Heroes and Zeros

The American Film Institute published recently its list of the top 100 heroes and villains in American cinema for the 20th century. Bad guys and good guys are usually easy to spot. So why did the people of Nazareth get so confused — and angry — about Jesus?

The American Film Institute recently released its list of the 100 greatest heroes and villains in film history. Some of them are pretty obvious. Hannibal Lechter, the chianti-slurping cannibal ranks as the number one villain followed closely by other cinema baddies like Norman Bates, Darth Vader and the Wicked Witch of the West.

The good guys are also predictable, with swashbucklers like Indiana Jones, James Bond and Robin Hood sharing the screen with strong women like Norma Rae, Marge Gunderson from Fargo and Erin Brockovich.

Some of the characters in the list, however, could go either way. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were bank robbers, but still make the heroes list. And the shark in Jaws makes the villains list, though you could argue that it was just doing what sharks do.

Perhaps the most interesting choice is that of the top movie hero of all time. He’s not your typical superhero type and, ironically — some would say — he’s a lawyer! Atticus Finch is the southern attorney...